Finally

ii. different

"I love you." Michael opened the front door and picked up his large black briefcase that resided beneath the coat stand. With a peck to her forehead, he descended the concrete stairs.

"I love you too."

She stood in the same position she had done for three years, waving him off and wishing him a good day at work.

That was the last time they would ever see one another again, as Michael was killed in a car crash on the way to work that same morning.

6 months later, and Juliet still couldn't quite comprehend that he was gone. She had experienced every grieving process possible, and they always resulted in her refusing to believe his death had occurred. She had seen his pale figure laying so peacefully in the coffin, witnessed it lowering into the ground as his mother fell to her knees in tears, reviewed his death certificate.

But he's not even dead?

Surely she would wake up soon? She would wake up from this nightmare that she felt like was going on for eternity. He would kiss her eyelids and shake her gently by her shoulders and tell her it was just a bad dream. That the empty shell of a house she resides in was a figure of her imagination and that it was time to wake the kids up for school. Their kids. Their little boy with his father's strikingly good looks and intriguing personality. Their little girl with her mother's eyes and breathtaking dancing ability.

She'd often think about them once she had drunk herself to insanity, reminiscing on the things they would do and see, what they would study and grow up to be and then the family they would have - as if they had existed. She would laugh to herself,

"They died when he did,"

Before passing out on the living room floor to be found and taken care of by Ryan the following morning.

A loud knock at the front door had echoed through to the kitchen where she prepared her lunch, Juliet placing down her knife and heading towards the entrance. Ryan usually left it a few seconds before resorting to bashing the door down with his shoulder, which he had done in order to pick her up from the living room floor.

Flicking the latch open and pulling on the door, she was met by the faces of Ryan and Bam, which was no surprise to her as they visited at least every other day.

"Morning," She smiled politely at the two, turning on her heel to walk back to the kitchen as they followed behind her.

"Hey sis, how's everything goin'?" Ryan eyed the living room as he passed it, searching the floor for any empty alcohol bottles or used glasses.

"I'm doing good," She lied; she had been crying and he knew it.

"That's good. That's really good," Ryan responded, taking a seat beside Bam at the breakfast bar as she continued preparing her sandwich.

"So, you got anything new to tell me?"

The boys glanced at one another, which went unnoticed by Juliet who was now taking a bite from her turkey sandwich.

"JJ, we know what day it is." Bam sighed, keeping his voice soft and gentle so that he wouldn't break her any further than she was.

She stared into the distance, continuing to eat.

"We know what day it is, and you shouldn't be alone." Ryan added, also treading carefully as he spoke.

Today was, or what would have been, their three year wedding anniversary. And she was spending it without her husband.

"I got you two." She tried to make light of the situation; she despised it when Ryan and Bam were even remotely serious as it was completely out of character for them.

"You are correct," Ryan raised from his seat,

"However! We do have an offer that you simply can't refuse," He replaced his voice with a very British-Bond Villain-esque accent, a brow raised and his finger tips pressed together as he strolled around the breakfast bar.

"Will you just spit it out already?" She prodded his stomach with her finger once he had finally reached her, slinging his arm around her shoulder.

"Well the guys are at Ape and Phil's and we think it'd be nice if you spent a little time with us all." Bam interrupted, stealing a chip from her plate.

"You mean to distract me?" She grinned, believing she had deciphered the code to this plan.

Ryan rolled his eyes, "the guys actually miss you, y'know. Ape and Phil ask about you all the time." He became easily agitated when she isolated herself, especially when there were so many others that loved her.

She hung her had in shame and defeat, rubbing her eyes with her index finger and thumb.

Bam shot his best friend the look of "way to go, moron" , to which Ryan shot him back with a middle finger.

Ryan hugged her even closer into his side,

"Y'know I get mad because I love you so much, right?"

She responded by wrapping her arms tightly around his waist, her cheek pressed against his chest.

"I'll come to Ape and Phil's." She mumbled.

"Really?!" Their eyes lit up and their smiles grew ten miles long, similar to children walking from their slumber to Christmas Day.

Juliet and the boys left soon after, leaving the house and locking it behind her.

She felt like it had been weeks since she reached the end of the lawn without surrendering to the gravitational pull of her house. It was safe and stable, she had discovered the outside world was not.

Bam and Dunn walked up the pathway to Bam's red Hummer, Juliet rolling her eyes and sitting in the back middle seat, clicking on her seatbelt.

"Why did you come in a car? You live literally 15 minutes away." Juliet complained, Ryan grinning at Bam and his laziness.

"Meh, effort to walk." The engine roared to life, her nails dug deep into her thigh.